THE MASKED BALL (Un Ballo in Maschera)

In the city of Boston, Massachusetts, during the early colonial period, disturbances were constantly occurring between the two contending parties of Royalists and Puritans; and at a reception held one evening at the palace of the Governor, Richard, Earl of Warwick, a party of conspirators had mingled amongst the guests, in order to gather information as to the forthcoming movements of the Viceroy, against whose life they were plotting.

Amongst these conspirators were two negroes named Sam and Tom, who were the ringleaders in the affair; but though they and their friends regarded Richard as a tyrant, and hated him as such, they found that he was very strongly guarded by a large majority of devoted adherents, and that their chances of making an attack upon him were small.

The Earl's chief supporter and most trusted official was his own private secretary, a Creole named Renato, who served his leader with a whole-hearted devotion, loving him as his dearest and most honoured friend; but, though Richard returned his Secretary's affection, and was sincerely grateful for his devotion, he had avoided him of late, and had seemed to shrink from their customary intercourse.

The reason for this was the fact that Richard had unfortunately conceived a deep and over-mastering passion for Renato's beautiful young wife, Adelia; and though torn with remorse for the wrong he thus did to his friend, he yet could not conquer the love that had grown up in his heart. In spite of the fact that he had refrained from declaring his passion, he had not succeeded in hiding it from the fair Adelia, who soon as ardently returned it, although she also felt deep remorse at the circumstance; and the unfortunate pair were thus wretchedly situated at the time of the Puritan conspiracy.

On the night of the reception, Richard was too much occupied by his tender thoughts of Adelia to notice that many of his avowed foes were actually present in his own house; and in spite of the whispered warnings of the devoted Renato, he continued to regard the strained political position as exaggerated, and merely scoffed at the idea of serious trouble.

During the meeting, a petition was presented to the Governor for the transporting of an old negress named Ulrica, who was reported to be a sorceress and dealer in the black art; and, utterly regardless of his own personal danger, Richard laughingly declared that before the witch was driven away he would himself consult her on the morrow under a disguise, and urge her to predict the fate in store for him.

The negro conspirators overheard this arrangement; and, hurrying away, they proceeded to gather their party together to plan the assassination of the Governor at the abode of the sorceress, since he would probably be unattended.

In spite of Renato's eager entreaty for him to abandon such a mad scheme of playing into the hands of his enemies, Richard still determined to carry it out; and on the morrow, in the disguise of a sailor, attended only by his faithful page, Edgar, and a few followers, he proceeded to the hut of Ulrica.

Here, surrounded by the usual weird appurtenances of a dealer in magic and sorcery, he found the old hag, who was already granting audiences to certain superstitious folk who had come to have their fortunes told.

As the disguised Earl hung back a while in the gloom of the smoky hut, he observed a veiled lady approach the so-called witch, and ask in a low tone for a potion to cure a guilty love; and to his surprise he recognised the soft voice as that of his beloved Adelia, and was filled with joy to thus learn for certain that she returned his passion, even though she sought a remedy to destroy it. In reply the hag bade her cull at midnight a certain herb, which grew only in a desolate spot outside the city, where murderers were hanged; and as Adelia hurried away, after declaring her intention to seek the herb that very night, her listening lover vowed in his heart that he would follow her thither, in order to protect her from harm.

It was now Richard's turn to have his fortune told; and to the alarm of his attendants, Ulrica, with dramatic intensity, declared that he would shortly meet his death by violence, and that the fatal blow would be struck by the person who should next take his hand. Laughing at the prediction, Richard held out his hand to his friends in turn, who, however, all drew back superstitiously; but when Renato presently appeared on the scene, in order to draw his master away before his disguise should be penetrated by his enemies, the Earl deliberately seized his hand in defiance of the witch's words, well knowing that his secretary was devoted to him.

Late that evening, as midnight approached, Adelia, in fear and trembling, yet firmly resolved in her purpose, made her way with hurried steps to the murderers' gibbet outside the city boundary; and in this wild and lonely spot, which was shunned by all as haunted, she sought the magic herb with which she hoped to quench a love she knew to be disloyal to her husband; and here she was closely followed by Richard, who, as she suddenly uttered an exclamation of terror at the sound of his footsteps, hurried to her side and revealed himself to her. Then, as the moonlight showed him the relief and joy in her face at his greeting, he could no longer retain control of his long-repressed feelings, and, folding her passionately in his arms, he declared his love for her; and Adelia, though still announcing her resolve to banish him from her heart, could not but admit that she returned his love.

This brief moment of supreme happiness was soon rudely interrupted; for angry shouts and approaching flashing lights showed that some disturbance was afoot. The terrified Adelia just had time to drop a heavy veil over her face, when her husband, Renato, dashed up to Richard and eagerly besought him to return with all haste to the palace, declaring that the negro conspirators, Tom and Sam, had tracked him to this spot, and were now approaching quickly with a party of adherents to assassinate him.

At first Richard flatly refused to make his escape, fearing for the fate of the hapless Adelia; but upon Renato promising to escort the lady back to the city, he agreed to fly from the certain danger that threatened him, binding his friend, however, to a solemn promise not to attempt to penetrate the secret of his charge's identity.

Renato, not having the slightest suspicion as to who the veiled lady might be, and anxious only for his revered chief's safety, gave the required promise; whereupon Richard dashed away into the darkness, and reached the palace in safety.

When he had gone Renato took the trembling Adelia by the hand, and hurried her away also; but the pair were quickly spied by the approaching conspirators, who rushed forward to capture them with cries of triumph, believing that they had secured the prize they sought. When, however, they discovered that instead of the tyrant Governor it was Renato they had seized, they were filled with angry disappointment; and upon their indulging in coarse jests and taunts at the expense of the veiled lady, the secretary, eager to defend his master's sweetheart, drew his sword and furiously defied the howling mob.

At this, Adelia, afraid for her husband's life, hurried to his side, entreating him not to anger the people; and, in her agitation, her veil became disarranged, so that her identity was revealed to all.

When Renato thus saw that it was his own beloved wife he had surprised in the company of the Governor, whom he consequently supposed to be her accepted lover, he was almost stunned with the shock of the discovery; and in his rage and despairing grief, he could scarcely refrain from killing Adelia, as she now fell on her knees before him. However, her piteous entreaties to be at least permitted to bid farewell to her little child, and her passionate declaration of innocence, restrained him for the moment; and sternly bidding her return home with him, he resolved to take vengeance upon the Governor, for whom the love and devotion he had borne was now turned to hate.

With this purpose in view, he quickly pacified the angry conspirators by declaring that he intended to join their ranks; and during the succeeding days he held secret interviews with them, in order to arrange a successful opportunity for the assassination of the Governor.

Meanwhile, Adelia was plunged in the deepest despair, fearing that her husband's jealous anger would lead him to some desperate deed; and full of anxiety for the safety of the man she loved, she endeavoured to learn all she could of the plot which she guessed was being hatched against his life.

One day, on suddenly entering a room in which Renato was consulting with the negroes, Sam and Tom, she was coldly commanded by her husband to draw one piece of folded paper from three which had been placed in a vase; for the three conspirators, having now arranged to assassinate the Governor at a splendid masked ball he was to give in a day or two, had determined to draw lots as to who should deliver the fatal blow.

Adelia, fearing to disobey her husband's command, drew forth a paper from the vase; and, horrified by Renato's exultant tone as he announced that it bore his name, she hurried away to her chamber, full of terrifying thoughts. She now felt assured that her husband intended to kill Richard; and suspecting that he hoped to accomplish his fell purpose on the night of the masked ball, she determined, though in no mood for festivity, to attend the function, in order that she might seek an opportunity to warn her lover.

In spite of the deep passion he had conceived for Adelia, Richard had never intended that his love should injure her in any way, and after a mighty struggle with himself, he had determined that they should be parted, from each other; and to this end he made arrangements for the appointment of Renato to a high official position in England. He therefore caused the necessary document making the appointment to be duly drawn up; and on the night of the masked ball he carried it with him, intending to hand it to Renato during the evening.

His friends, knowing that the conspirators had been actively engaged of late, endeavoured to persuade him not to attend the ball; but Richard, ever careless of danger, laughed at their fears as usual, and donning a black domino and mask, boldly mingled with the merry dancers.

Renato, attired in the conspirators' chosen colours of azure and scarlet, also mingled with the dazzling throng, seeking for the Governor; but not knowing his disguise, he was getting impatient of the delay in his plans, when he happened to meet the giddy young page, Edgar, from whom he gained the information he sought.

Meanwhile, Adelia, masked and enveloped in a white domino, also sought for Richard; and at last, to her joy, she heard his voice, and recognised him, in spite of his mask and black domino. Quickly making herself known to him, she eagerly besought her lover to leave the ball-room at once, declaring to him her suspicions of the danger that threatened him; but Richard, still careless of his own safety, would not hurry away, but, instead, proceeded to tell her of the plans he had made for their safety from temptation by the appointment in England he had arranged for her husband. He then took a tender farewell of her, resolving not to see her again; but even as he still held her by the hand, Renato, having at last tracked him, dashed forward in a passion of jealousy, and stabbed him to the heart.

As Richard fell back dying, he painfully drew forth the document making the new appointment, and held it towards Renato; and then, as the horrified guests gathered round, with his last gasping breath he declared that Adelia was entirely innocent and pure, and that in his love for her he had never designed her hurt nor aimed at her peace.

With these words he expired; and Renato, now filled with agonising remorse, realised too late that in his jealous frenzy he had slain a man, who, so far from being base, had faithfully respected the honour of his friend under a terrible temptation.